The Girl He Met in the Garden
by MissOneDayAmericanDream
Summary: "Most stories like this start with the words 'Once Upon a Time...' But not this one, for, eventually time will not matter to her. It won't even exist." Full summary inside. Takes place before any adaptation of Peter Pan.
1. The Girl He Met in the Garden

**Hey.**

**So, I watched both the Disney films about Peter Pan, the 2003 film and read the original book recently and this idea just came into my head. What if Peter had another best friend other than Tinkerbell? What if she was a girl? This is NOT a romance Peter/OC story. It is purely adventure/friendship.**

**Summary: The story of my OC Sophie. Obviously she will go to Neverland but what adventures will she have? How does Peter feel about a girl that can do everything he can? This is Sophie's story.**

**Disclaimer: This goes for all chapters. I do not own anything from the many adaptations of Peter Pan. If I did, well I wouldn't be sat here writing my story on a FanFic website. It would already be part of the original story.**

**Oh and just so you know I will be basing the characters from the 2003 film.**

…**...**

Chapter 1

The Girl He Met in the Garden

Most stories like this start with the words once upon a time… but not this one, for, eventually time will not matter to her, it won't even exist.

Our story starts in a nineteenth century old English orphanage, the kind where it is almost always cold, cobwebs hang from the ceilings and most of the children who are unfortunate enough to experience the ghastly place often choose a criminal life on the streets of London rather than to suffer that fate. But of course Sophie could not choose to just leave; she was young, seven years old to be precise, so she just lived there, not realising that things could be any better. Being young also meant being naïve. The older children at the orphanage pitied her, she was the one who was left on the doorstep at just a few days old and everyone figured that if her mother left her to a place like this then, surely, she must have hated the child.

For such a young girl, Sophie was smart and she had these insecurities too, but she would never voice them, which would make them more real, she liked to believe that one day her mother would come for her, and she really did believe it. Like I said - naïve.

The orphanage wasn't really an orphanage, more like a workhouse; each of the children had chores. Mrs Beales, the owner told them that this was to build character, but Sophie knew that it was to ensure that they had no time to play, to be children. Mrs Beales was a terrible specimen of a woman. Grey, wispy hair that she always, always had in a bun with a white maids cap plonked on top, flushed, sweaty skin that never seemed to stop blushing, the kind of teeth that made people cringe, they were black and yellow and were a warning sign that ensured you knew that her breath ponged before you ever smelt it yourself. Everyday, she wore a long black dress that covered every inch of her plump body from the shoulders down apart from her hands where the fingernails were dirty and chipped. A stained apron was tied around her waist most of the time and she continually wiped her clammy hands on it.

Mrs Beales did not much care for children; she was only an orphanage owner because the rich families in the neighbourhood tended to take pity on the orphans and donate money, thinking that it was going to the establishment when really it was falling straight into Mrs Beales' greedy pockets. Another reason that she made the children do chores was simply because she was a lazy woman who liked to have power, to be in charge.

On this cold winter night is where Sophie's adventures began. Her chore is to scrub the floors and at this precise moment she was cleaning the kitchen, which is also where the backdoor of the house is. On her hands and knees she moved the scrubbing brush back and forth, back and forth in the soapy water that was puddled on the floor.

She noticed her reflection in the water, as she always did, and wondered if she looked like her mother, childishly, she lifted one of her hands from the floor and tucked her blonde curls behind her ears but there was still her fringe in her face. Sticking her bottom lip out, she blew upward so that the fine bits of hair flew away from her eyes. Now studying her eyes in her reflection she tried to imagine her mother. Did she have the same clear blue eyes, fringed with long lashes that were the envy of most girls and women? The same fair skin? The same button nose? The more Sophie tried to imagine her mother the more her mind went blank about her. This frustrated Sophie to no end and her rose peach-pink lips pouted.

Sitting back on her knees, she looked towards the back door. Maybe she could slip out into the fresh air for five minutes without being caught. As soon as the idea of taking a break came into her head, she couldn't talk herself out of it as she had never been an obedient child; Mrs Beales knew this and frequently came to check on her. She stood up and crept over to the door and slowly and carefully peaked around the small gap that was open. Eyeing the long, dimly lit hallway there was no one there and she could see the front door at the other end. Smiling to herself she turned around and ran across the kitchen, completely forgetting in her haste about the water on the floor. As soon as she heard the splash of her boot in it and began skidding forward she cringed and scrunched her eyes up waiting for the blow that would surely come.

But it didn't and she screeched to a stop behind the door. She slowly opened her eyes for fear that someone had heard the screech or splash and would come to check on her. After a few seconds no one did and she grinned.

Surely now nothing could stop her from her five minutes of freedom. But it did, the door was locked. Frowning, she started to return back to her work until a light breeze blew through the kitchen making Sophie's hair dance into her face. Turning around to find the source, she saw that the window was open. Seeing her chance, she pulled over a chair from the table and stood on it. She swung both legs over and sat on the ledge, before she jumped she looked down, she was on the ground floor of course and the distance to the ground would have been fine for a child of twelve or thirteen but Sophie was not twelve or thirteen, not even close, she was only seven.

Even though it seemed high to her she was brave and she jumped anyway. It turned out it was too high for her and when her feet hit the ground her legs gave way and her hands hit the floor too. She quickly got over the shock of falling and turned her hands over to see that her palms were grazed. Rustling in the bushes opposite her startled and immediately distracted her. She stood up with her back against the wall, forgetting her injured hands.

"Who's there?" She questioned courageously.

No answer.

Sophie would never suspect what actually was in the bushes, for she had never seen one. In the bushes was a fairy, by the name of Tinkerbell. But it wasn't just in the bushes that someone was watching her; above her there was a boy, floating effortlessly, looking down at her. When he heard the bushes rustle, he looked to them as well, to see if Tink had appeared.

"I am not afraid." The girl spoke again.

This confused the boy and made him smile mockingly. To him, the girl appeared so small and defenceless. She was outside in the cold and the dark, knowing that there was a stranger concealed in the bushes in front of her. Of course, Tink could not harm this child; the girl was small but the fairy was smaller. But the girl did not know that what was in the bushes was a fairy. For all she knew, it could be a grown up. Maybe she would be more scared if she knew there was a flying boy above her.

At this thought he slowly came down and landed in front of her. When she first noticed him her eyes grew wide and her mouth formed a small 'O'. Misinterpreting her awed expression for fear, he raised his hands up, palms toward her.

"Don't be afraid, I am Peter Pan." He said, half reassuring, half proud and finishing by placing his hands on his hips, as he regularly did.

"I'm not afraid of anything." Sophie said defiantly but still smiling. "And I am Sophie Johnson." She replied, curtsying. Sophie was not afraid of Peter. She was the kind of child who did not know fear as well as she should, she was the curious kind.

The fact that she truly was not frightened of him offended Peter for some reason and he taunted her. "That's a boring name." He said bluntly, folding his arms and looking away.

This did not have the desired affect on her and she continued to smile. "It's not my real name. Well, Sophie is but not Johnson." She explained matter of factly and proceeded to explain to him that she had no last name because her mother had left her here temporarily but did not tell Mrs Beales her last name so Mrs Beales had named her Sophie Johnson.

Peter was a little disinterested with the story of how Sophie got her name and began to walk to the bushes where Tinkerbell was hiding. Sophie followed behind him.

"Tink?" He called. "You can come out now."

Then the little ball of light that was Tinkerbell came speeding out of the bushes.

Sophie gasped. "Oh, a fairy! How magical."

Peter smiled at that and Tinkerbell came right up to Sophie's face as if to inspect her then flew back to Peter and hovered beside his head. "This is Tinkerbell." Peter introduced.

"That's a beautiful name." Sophie complimented and if you looked close enough you could see Tinkerbell blush.

"Why did you say your mother left you here temporarily?" Peter asked Sophie as she continued to gaze at the fairy in wonder.

"Because she's coming back for me."

"How long have you been here?" He questioned.

"Since I was a baby."

"Then how do you know?"

She looked at Peter now and realised that he was several inches taller than her. Knowing what question he was asking her she changed the subject. "How old are you?"

Peter frowned, "I don't know." He had never really thought about it before, he knew he was quite young but not as young as the girl before him. To look at Peter you would think he was about thirteen, maybe almost fourteen. However, he wasn't mature enough to be fourteen.

"Oh. Because you must be a lot older than me. I mean look how tall you are." She pointed out.

Peter did not like the word older so he decided to repeat his previous question. "How do you know that your mother is coming back for you?"

"I just do."

"But how do you know?" He repeated.

This was a sore subject for Sophie because she did not know that her mother was coming back. The truth was, she knew absolutely nothing about her mother except that she left her on the cold doorstep of the orphanage seven years ago. But she did not dare admit that to Peter. She told him she wasn't afraid of anything but she knew if he kept asking about her mother she might cry but, nevertheless she held his gaze.

Tinkerbell was watching the exchange from Peter's shoulder and wondered why Peter was pressing the subject of the girl's mother. She knew of course how he felt about mothers, but even she could see that he was clearly upsetting the small child.

When she didn't answer he tried another question. "Why would she leave you here when you were a baby if she was coming back for you?"

Sophie's eyes faltered and she looked at her feet.

Seeing this, Peter realised how small she really was compared to him and that she must have been a lot younger than he was. He immediately felt guilty and crouched to the floor to look at her face. "How old are you, Sophie?" He asked, if only for something to say to distract her.

"Seven." She answered.

She still looked sad so he tried again. "Don't feel bad. I'm an orphan too you know?"

"You are?" She asked timidly, still not looking at him.

"Yeah." He nodded.

Still looking at her feet she asked, "Where do you live?"

"Me? I live in Neverland, where you never have to grow up." He smiled excitedly.

"Really?" She looked up now and Peter grinned.

"Yep. There are fairies," when Peter said this Tinkerbell flew up to Sophie as if to prove his point and affectionately pinched her nose, "mermaids, Indians, Pirates!" Peter described standing up and gesturing with his hands. Sophie hung on his every word; her eyes now alight with wonder and excitement.

"Wow! Peter, you're so lucky!" She gasped.

Peter smiled and shrugged his shoulders proudly.

"Sophie Johnson! Where are you girl?" Mrs Beales could be heard from inside.

Peter unsheathed his dagger at the shrill, angry voice.

"Oh no!" Sophie cried.

"What's wrong? Who is that?" Peter asked.

"Mrs Beales. I'm not supposed to be out here. Quick, Peter you have to hide!" She begged him worriedly.

The rattle of the keys in the lock could be heard and Sophie turned around horrified. When she turned back toward the bushes Peter was still there, grinning mischievously and eyeing the open window he had watched Sophie climb out of.

"Come on." Peter grabbed her arm and dragged her to the window.

"Peter, what are you doing?" She asked frantically.

"Keeping you out of trouble." He answered.

When Mrs Beales finally opened the back door he lifted Sophie to the window and understanding his plan she climbed through.

Peter and Tinkerbell had already flown away before the old hag could see them. She strode around the garden looking for the girl she was sure had to be out here.

When Sophie landed inside on the kitchen floor she knew Mrs Beales would not believe that she had been there the whole time and the old woman simply had not seen her in her haste. So she thought of a lie. She must've gone to the bathroom just before Mrs Beales came to check on her. Though angry, Mrs Beales swallowed up the lie and sent the little girl to bed.

That night when Sophie was fast asleep, Peter found her window so he would know where to go if he intended to visit the girl he met in the garden again.

…..

**So, that was chapter one…**

**I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read this and a review would be much appreciated. Let me know what you think**.


	2. Tricks

Chapter 2

Tricks

That night Sophie dreamt of Peter and of Neverland, of mermaids, fairies and pirates. She imagined the mermaids and fairies to be beautiful and sweet. She imagined the pirates to be the exact opposite – ugly and cruel.

The next morning Mrs Beales wrapped on the door, running up and down the halls shouting, "Up! Children, get up! Now!"

Sophie sat up so fast that her head spun, she blinked and rubbed her eyes, wondering if it was all a dream. She leapt out of bed and ran out of the room in her nightgown and bear feet, as she sped down the hall and stairs to the kitchen she pushed past the other children and was thankful that she did not run into Mrs Beales.

Once in the kitchen she ran to the back door and pulled it, relieved that it was open. Stepping her bear foot onto the cold concrete and feeling the crisp morning air on her rosy cheeks she glanced around quickly, looking for something, anything that would prove that it was real, that he was real. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something glistening in the bushes. Sophie rushed forward and lifted a leaf delicately in her small hands and there, lining the edges of it was some kind of shimmering powder – pixie dust.

Sophie gasped. "Tinkerbell." She whispered.

"Sophie Johnson! What are you doing out here in your nightgown?" Mrs Beales questioned from the doorway to the old house.

The little girl whipped around with her hands behind her back, she tried to look innocent. "Um… I uh – "

"Oh never mind! Quick, get inside before you catch your death." The old woman ordered and stepped aside for the girl. "Go upstairs and put your day dress on and for heaven's sake, girl, put something on your feet!" She called as Sophie ran past her. "Strange child." Mrs Beales muttered to her self.

Upon arriving in her room, Sophie proceeded to put on her dress and shoes, then brushed her hair. When finished she made her way down to the dining room where all the other children were already scoffing breakfast and took a seat.

There was another small girl, Lucy; you could say that she was Sophie's best friend. She was the same height as Sophie, with pale skin and short, poker straight, dark brown hair. But this girl was not as adventurous as Sophie; she always did her chores, ate her vegetables and was in bed on time. Peter would describe her as boring. Lucy was terrified of Mrs Beales and whenever Sophie decided to misbehave, Lucy was almost always dragged along too. Sophie knew that Lucy hated getting into trouble so she always took the blame anytime they got caught breaking the rules; she didn't mind, it made her dull life a bit more exciting.

Then there was Ralph, a horrible little brat who was terribly jealous of other children, especially Sophie. This was because Sophie was well liked by the other children at the orphanage and he was not. There wasn't anything extraordinary about this boy, he was very plain looking and had a very plain personality. His porky face was rounded by chubby cheeks which made his eyes look a lot smaller than they actually were. Dark hair, parted in the middle curled upwards at the sides of his head. Along with his small eyes, he had a small nose and mouth too. Mind you, that didn't stop him gossiping about the other children and throwing insults and tantrums whenever he didn't get his way. He was taller than Sophie, and older, three years older. He liked to tease the younger children and was usually extremely cruel when he did this.

"Where were you this morning? I went to your room." Lucy asked Sophie quietly.

"I went out to the back garden. You won't believe what-" Sophie stopped abruptly, wondering whether or not she should tell anyone about Peter.

"What?" Lucy pressed.

"What… what… what Ralph did." She fumbled, looking away whilst lying and grabbing a piece of bread from the table.

"Oh, what's he done now?" Lucy huffed, exasperated. You see, it was easy for her to believe that Ralph had done something to Sophie, for this happened frequently and she now knew that Sophie would ask her to help with getting Ralph back for whatever trick he had played on Sophie.

"Um… he…he stole my shoes and... put them in the garden so I had to go and get them in bare feet." She lied quickly.

"He's such a menace." Lucy said.

Later that day, as Lucy had predicted Sophie had required her help in playing a trick on Ralph who was currently dusting in the kitchen. The girls were hiding on the stairs, looking through the posts of the banister. They had filled a bucket with ice cold water and Sophie had climbed on Lucy's shoulders so that she could rest the bucket on the top of the door so that when someone opened it the bucket would fall and the water would soak them.

They were currently waiting for Ralph to come through the door. When he did the bucket fell and he got drenched but what Sophie wasn't planning on was the bucket falling and getting stuck on his head.

The girls tried to contain their laughter at this surprising yet hilarious turn of events but simply couldn't, they escaped from the scene of the crime by running to Lucy's room and closing the door behind them. Laughing, they collapsed to the floor listening to Ralph's muffled screams from downstairs.

When they finally sobered up they heard Mrs Beales shouting downstairs, cursing Ralph and calling him a "stupid boy!"

Hearing Mrs Beales yell like that worried Lucy. "What if she finds out it were us?" She asked worriedly.

"She won't, he couldn't see us for the bucket on his head." Sophie reassured.

"But he'll know, Sophie. He always knows when we play tricks on him."

"He's got no proof." Sophie sat on Lucy's bed while the latter paced around her bedroom.

"You should go to your room." Lucy carried on pacing.

"What? Why?" Sophie asked, hurt.

Lucy stopped and looked at her. "Because he'll surely say it was us and if we're both in here it'll look suspicious."

"Oh. Right. Well, bye then." Sophie stood and walked to the door. Lucy worried too much sometimes.

Later that night all the children were in their rooms apart from Ralph who was downstairs with Mrs Beales still trying to get the bucket off his head. He hadn't been able to talk properly since it had got stuck there. Ralph knew exactly who had done it, even though he didn't see them, he heard them giggling as they ran off. As soon as this bucket came off his head he would get his revenge.

After trying everything from butter to soap to loosen the damn thing, Mrs Beales had just resorted to pulling and finally with a pop Ralph was free and as red faced as ever.

"Stupid boy." Mrs Beales repeated putting the bucket under the sink.

"It was Sophie and Lucy, Mrs Beales!" Ralph cried after waiting so long to rat out the mischievous girls.

"What? How do you know?" The old woman questioned.

"I saw them. Right before that bucket fell on my head, I saw them pointing and laughing at me." He lied.

"I've had just about enough of those girls." Mrs Beales huffed and began her march to their rooms. Ralph followed.

"Sophie! Lucy! Come out here at once!" Mrs Beales called now stood in the corridor to all the bedrooms.

Both girls rushed out and stood in front of the old woman. Sophie succeeded in looking completely innocent while Lucy appeared nervous, fiddling with the hem on her sleeve and tears already in her eyes. Sophie spotted Ralph grinning behind Mrs Beales and glared at him fiercely.

"I trust you both know what you are here for?" Mrs Beales asked.

"No, Mrs Beales." Both girls shook there heads', it was like a routine to them.

"Girls, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way." The old woman warned.

Lucy's bottom lip was shaking now. Mrs Beales zeroed in on it and questioned the poor girl sternly. "Lucy, you seem to be rather nervous? Care to explain why?"

"I don't know." The girl answered, giving up, knowing she was caught she cast her eyes downwards.

"Look at me girl!" Mrs Beales ordered.

Lucy's head snapped up and she sniffled once.

"It was me." All the heads in the hallway turned to Sophie.

"Excuse me?" Mrs Beales asked.

"I was the one who put the bucket on Ralph's head. Lucy had nothing to do with it." Sophie continued holding her head high.

"Go to bed, Lucy." Mrs Beales told the girl.

Lucy did as she was told but not before mouthing a thank you to Sophie.

"I told you! I told you, Mrs Beales!" Ralph cried, satisfied.

"Oh yes, alright, Ralph. Off to bed with you." Mrs Beales snapped and the boy scurried off with his tail between his legs.

"I suppose you're quite proud of yourself?"

Sophie stayed quiet; she knew that was best from experience.

"I've had enough of this, Sophie. Go to bed and you will be confined to your room all day tomorrow."

"Yes, Mrs Beales." Sophie walked to her room and got under the covers in her bed.

Frowning, she thought about Peter and Tinkerbell, wondering what they were doing now. She fell asleep imagining them flying around Neverland having so much more fun than she had ever had in her whole life.

A few hours later she was awoken by a tapping noise. She sat up and looked around for the source. There was a familiar glow outside her window. As she got closer she could see the outline of Peter. Smiling, she ran the rest of the way and quickly opened the window to let the boy and the fairy in.

"Peter! Tinkerbell!" She gasped.

"Sophie." Peter smiled walking straight in and looking around her room. A sound of bells came from Tinkerbell. "Tink says hi." Peter translated.

"What are you doing here?" Sophie asked.

"I came to see you of course." The boy stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Tink flew to the top of the wardrobe and perched herself there.

"How did you know where to find me?" Sophie wondered.

Peter lay on her bed with his hands behind his head while Sophie stood at the end.

"Just did." Was his vague answer with a tone that said he wasn't going to elaborate. He didn't want this little girl to know that he had searched for her room the night before.

"Oh."

"So, what do you want to do?" Peter asked her.

"Oh, Peter, tell me about Neverland." She requested sitting on the bed by his feet.

Peter stood on the bed so that he could demonstrate his words if he wished to.

Just as Peter was about to start the bedroom door burst open. In the doorway was a gobsmacked Ralph.

"Mrs Beales!" He yelled and began to run down the hallway.

Peter quickly flew after him and covered the boy's mouth with his hand. Sophie ran out into the hallway with Tinkerbell following to see Ralph on the floor with Peter hovering above him while covering his mouth. With Peter's free hand he put his finger to his lips, gesturing for the boy to be quiet.

Ralph nodded, eyes still wide with terror but as soon as Peter moved his hand he began to insult Sophie. "I'm going to tell on you, Sophie Johnson. I'm going to tell Mrs Beales you had a boy in your room. You're so strange, I bet it's because you don't have a mother."

"I do too have a mother, Ralph! She's coming back for me!"

"Oh, grow up! She didn't want you! She abandoned you and it's no wonder!" Ralph shouted.

Sophie turned and ran back into her room crying. Tinkerbell stuck her tongue out at the boy and flew after her.

Seeing that this boy had upset his new friend, Peter unsheathed his dagger and pushed the boy against the wall holding the blade to his throat. Ralph stopped breathing in shock. "Don't you ever mention Sophie's mother to her again. If you make her cry I'll come back for you." Peter threatened menacingly then went back to Sophie's room leaving a stunned Ralph in the hallway.

Peter found Sophie in the corner of her room with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head buried in her arms. Tinkerbell was hovering round her. He had never seen Tink take to someone quite so well before. He supposed it was because Sophie was young.

He went over and crouched in front of the small girl again as he did last night. "Sophie?"

A sniffle.

"Don't cry."

Nothing.

Tinkerbell lightly pulled on a strand of her hair.

Finally Sophie's muffled voice spoke. "Peter, how did you become an orphan?"

"I ran away."

"Why?" She looked up.

"I heard my mother and father talking about what I was to be when I became a man."

"Don't you want to be a man?"

"I want forever to be a boy and have fun. That's why I went to Neverland, time doesn't exist there." Peter smiled and began exploring her room once again.

"But how did you get to Neverland?" Sophie stood up and went to sit on her bed, watching Peter.

"When I ran away I went to Kensington gardens. That's where I met Tink, she showed me the way." Peter turned to face her. "You ask too many questions."

Sophie had no answer for that.

"Why don't you like that boy?" Peter wondered.

"Ralph? Because he's not very nice and he's boring." She informed him childishly. "I have to stay in my room all day tomorrow because he told on me." Sophie huffed laying back.

"What did you do to him?"

"Me and my friend played a trick on him and he ended up getting a bucket stuck on his big fat head for hours."

Peter laughed out loud at this and Sophie was proud that she'd impressed him.

"I always play tricks on him." Sophie carried on. "One, time we covered him in glue and stuck feathers to him." The memory of Ralph running round after Sophie like a chicken made her laugh too and she wrapped her arms around her stomach.

Tinkerbell went to Peter and whispered something in his ear.

"I must go." He told Sophie.

"Oh." Her smile fell. "Will you come back?" She wondered just before he went out the window.

"Probably." He said. "Tink likes you." And with that he and Tinkerbell flew off into the night.

The next day Ralph went straight to Mrs Beales and proceeded to tell her about a flying boy and a fairy that Sophie had in her room last night to which she had replied, "don't be silly, Ralph. Go and do your chores."

But he would not give up so easily and when the woman had finally had enough she exploded in rage. "Ralph Emmerson! You are not to tell lies and make up stories! We live in the real world! I know you're angry about the incident yesterday but enough is enough, boy! There is no such thing as a flying boy and certainly no such thing as fairi-"

"But, Mrs Beales!" Ralph whined.

"No, Ralph! Leave my sight this instance!"

It was a terribly good thing that Ralph hadn't let Mrs Beales finish her sentence. If she had, a fairy somewhere would have died.

…

**So, that was chapter 2. How you liking it so far?**

**I would like to thank tricorvus for reviewing :)**

**Just so you know, there are pictures for this story on my profile if you want to get a clearer image of Sophie.**

**Review?**


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